According to a press statement, the funds will be used to help accelerate the growth of Kinara Capital in new and existing markets. The company also plans to increase its investment in technology to improve customer experience and assess credit decisions at a faster rate.

In a note, the company said that it has disbursed Rs 1160 crore through more than 33700 loans across the country. Last July, Kinara raised $5 million in debt from Swiss impact investor ResponsAbility Investments AG. It had earlier raised₹96 crore led by Gaja Capital.

Kinara Capital provides fast and flexible loans in the range of Rs 2 to 25 lakh without taking property collateral from small business entrepreneurs. The company claims to disburse loans within five to seven days of receiving the application which is received through a completely digital process.

With 90 branches, the company plans to add 20 branches in high-growth locations in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana and add 300 more staff this year to become bigger than the 1000 employee base.

Commenting on the investment, Hardika Shah, Founder, and CEO of Kinara Capital said,

“Impact-focused sustainable growth is at the heart of all that we do to create access to capital for small business entrepreneurs. When committed to transforming lives, we believe in leading by example – we run a profitable organization that practices integrity, transparency, and treats customers with dignity.”

A 2018 BCG report said that the country’s digital lending market has the potential to become a $1 Tn (INR 71 Lakh Cr) opportunity in the next five years. Of this, personal lending is estimated to grow to a $50 Bn market, growing at a rate of 30% every year.

Mumbai-based micro-lending startup Ftcash raised $7.23 Mn (INR 50 Cr) in a Series A round of funding led by two new investors, Dutch development finance institution FMO and US-based non-profit investor Accion International.

In April, Mumbai-based digital lending startup Happy Loans raised $20 Mn in an equity and debt funding round from Indian and US strategic investors, and financing lines from institutions including DMI Finance.

Sweden-based caller identification app Truecaller is also planning to provide a full spectrum of financial services with a focus on digital lending service in India. The company will be leveraging the online payments app Chillr to enable this.